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The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

After reading and thoroughly enjoying The Runaways, recently brought back into publication as part of Hesperus Press’ lovely Hesperus Minor collection, I was determined to find and read more of Elizabeth Goudge’s work. Some online research revealed that many fans of Goudge cite The Little White Horse as their favourite, and so I thought that would probably be a good place to start on my voyage through her extensive list of novels. Serendipitously, I managed to snap up a lovely original hardcover online for a bargain price, and when it arrived, one look at the adorable dustjacket told me that I was in for a big dollop of escapism with a generous side of charm. As I opened the cover, I put aside my reason and my scepticism and allowed myself to approach the story with the unquestioning attitude of a child, otherwise the magic would be utterly ruined. Consider yourself duly warned; this is not a novel to be approached with a rational mind!

Maria Merryweather, her guardian Miss Heliotrope and her dog Wiggins arrive at Moonacre Manor, their new home in the middle of the Devonshire countryside, on a moonlit night. Maria has been orphaned, and with no money due to her late father’s spendthrift ways, she has had to leave behind her luxurious London townhouse and come to live with Sir Benjamin, her only surviving relative. Maria, a stubborn, pampered yet good hearted little thing, is not convinced about her move to the country, but upon arrival at the mysterious, beautiful Moonacre, she soon changes her mind. Sir Benjamin proves to be kind and gentle, and his home is more than comfortable. Maria is shown to her bedroom in the tower of the Manor, and is instantly overcome with emotion at how fitting it is to her personality; its ceiling is covered in moons and stars, and the silvery furniture and beautiful bedspread speak of delicacy, refinement and beauty; everything Maria values. Maria and Miss Heliotrope are made instantly at home, but very soon it becomes clear that Moonacre and its village, Silverydew, are very far from ordinary, and are going to change their lives in ways they could never have imagined.

Their first day at Moonacre reveals many a mystery; Maria wakes up to find clothes laid out for her, and fresh flowers, and delicious food is presented at mealtimes. However, there are no servants at Moonacre other than the ancient coachman, Digweed. Who is providing all of these things? The animals at Moonacre, such as Sir Benjamin’s huge dog, Wrolf, appear to have lived for generations, and Maria is convinced that she has seen a white horse that apparently doesn’t exist running in the garden. The house is decorated with feminine touches, but no woman has lived there for 20 years and no one will tell Maria anything about the last occupant of her room. The little boy who Maria used to play with in her London garden appears again at Moonacre, and instead of being the imaginary friend Miss Heliotrope always said he was, he is perfectly real. Moonacre appears to be a place where the impossible becomes possible, and where all is not as it seems. As idyllic as it all looks, there is much sadness and danger at Moonacre, with the community threatened by the malevolent ‘Black Men’ of the woods and the Manor haunted by the mystery of its missing Moon Princess. To bring about peace and harmony once more, Maria will have to find a courage she never knew she had, and take all the help she can get, because it will not be an easy journey…

Every page of his novel is a delight. It is a story very much of its time: goodness and evil, religion and sin and manners and morality are its watchwords, and its purpose is to educate as much as it is to entertain. However, this doesn’t mean that it fails to enchant; far from it. Moonacre is filled with delightful characters, all of whom come to life on the pages and create a vivid, fantastical world where everything is beautiful and all’s well that ends well. Adults can easily see the connections between characters and events long before they are revealed, but I can imagine that if I had read this as a child, I would have been shocked and surprised by most of the coincidental happenings. It is a story, in its essence, about redemption and hope; at Moonacre, no sin is too great to overcome, and no-one, no matter how wicked their ways, cannot change. It is simplistic, even idealistic, but we all need a little idealism in our lives now and again. The Little White Horse is a marvellous vision of a world where courage and kindness can overcome all ills, and while at times it may be a little saccharine and twee, I loved every minute of it. If you need to escape for a little while, this will be just the ticket!

As I was reading the blog, the plot of the novel sounded so familiar and then it hit me that I have seen a movie with the same story “The Secret of Moonacre” some years ago. Apparently its based on this book!!

Oh no, Peggy! I think it’s definitely not a book for ‘grown-ups’ unless you’ve got fond memories of it as a child – parts of it were faintly ridiculous but as I read so much young adult fiction these days I can let it go!

This was also one of my childhood favourites; I think my interests must always have been rather domestic, though, as the main thing I remember is Maria’s lovely room at the top of the tower, complete with apple wood fire and box of sugar flower biscuits! Scanning through the book again tonight, I do think that Elizabeth Goudge is particularly good at evocative descriptions of houses and food (in this book as in Linnets and Valerians/The Runaways); creating a perfect world in which to escape for a few hours. Thank you for reminding me of this magical book.

Oh yes, that room is delightful,isn’t it! I loved the idea of sleeping in there. Yes she is – much like Enid Blyton – my only real memory of her books is the food these days. It’s a pleasure – I hope you’ll have a chance to re-read!

This sounds like such a charming read! I LOVE when this happens in my book world: last week I sort of accidentally acquired an Elizabeth Goudge book (Gentian Hill), though I’d never heard of her before. Your reviews have persuaded me to hold on to this accidentally-acquired book!

Apologies for the somewhat off-topic comment but, by way of a public service announcement, I notice that you host your bookshop with “etsy”. I read here (http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/heartbleed-bug-websites-affected/?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=pockethits) that it might be advisable to change your password on that side, owing to the “heartbleed” encryption flaw. WordPress also appears on the list of sites for which a password change might be a good idea. It should be stressed that both Etsy and WordPress have applied patches to remove whatever vulnerability they might have had, and hence you probably have nothing to worry about. Still, sometimes it is better to work on the precautionary principle.

Only tangentally back on topic, I had an encounter with three quite big white horses last week in a field in the Yorkshire Dales. They were blocking the only passable bit of an incredibly muddy and water-logged field. However much I waved my warms they refused to move. I had to edge between the wall and the rear of one of the horses hoping that it did not choose the same moment to relieve itself of any bodily waste!